[img]560|left|Nicholas Pollak||no_popup[/img]Quitting smoking is one of the most difficult things anyone can accomplish.

People start smoking for two main reasons: Peer pressure and self-image.

Peer pressure is obvious.

We are all subject to that in our adolescent years while we are trying to establish our own identity.

We do things that appear to make us more adult in our behavior and popular amongst peers.

The chances are high that if you were associating with smokers during those years, you were going to smoke. If your parents smoked, you would have seen that as acceptable behavior and again, you would probably smoke.

As for self-image, we think we look or act cool when we smoke. Often this stems stems from seeing pop or movie idols smoking. We think it is cool to look like them.

Through the tremendous research that has been done, we know smoking is extremely harmful.

Complicated but Effective Path

Some alternatives are available to help people to quit smoking — acupuncture, pills, gum, the patch and hypnosis.

With the exceptions of acupuncture and hypnosis, these methods rely on using these products as a substitute for cigarettes. Since all contain nicotine, the body remains dependent on the nicotine. You are just choosing less harmful delivery methods.

These substitutes help to slowly allow the nicotine within our bodies to be reduced. Most importantly, they give you the nicotine you need and the time you need to break the actual physical act of smoking.

Once you actually have managed to quit smoking, your lung function begins to improve.

You have less carbon monoxide and other impurities in your system.

Your skin and body rebound quickly and begin to look softer and younger.

You and your clothes begin to smell better.

Your teeth look better. Your breath smells better.

More oxygen runs through your bloodstream.

You find yourself with more energy and a significantly more stable temperament.

During the quitting process, you may experience withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, difficulty sleeping, restlessness, perhaps bowel irregularity and other symptoms.

A Mandatory Concession

There is no easy fix other than to rid yourself of the nicotine as quickly as possible. Then steel yourself against the withdrawal symptoms while visualizing yourself as a non-smoker.

The biggest mistake people commit is returning to the habit because they cannot stand the withdrawal. In fact, those very symptoms show you are getting better.

Nicotine is completely gone from your system in three days, and you are left with the body becoming used to not having it and the mind dealing with your change from smoking routines.

In other words you must become accustomed to a non-cigarette smoking routine.

Find substitutes.

Examples:

Drink more water. Eat more fruit. Work out more.

These changes assist the body in flushing to out remaining cigarette impurities. Exercising will help deal with your restlessness or irritability and it will increase your energy.

Hypnotherapy is an extremely valuable tool in quitting. In hypnosis, you can see and feel what it is like to be a non-smoker. It allows you to visualize yourself in situations where you used to smoke, and also to be around others who smoke without becoming judgmental or preachy.

Cigarettes sometimes can be the excuse you need to reward yourself for tasks performed, or to be with friends, or to simply be alone for a few minutes to sit and think. These can be done without the excuse of having to smoke to do them.

Here is an added incentive:

If you are used to spending a large amount of money on your tobacco, now you can save it. You will be surprised how quickly it accumulates, how soon you will have enough to buy something special or even take a vacation as a reward for breaking the habit.

For those who are stimulated to action as a result of this article, let me offer you a very useful “prayer” or “meditation.”

Meditation for the First Day

“I don't have to quit forever. I can go back and use tobacco tomorrow if I want to. All I have to do is just not use it today.

“I can do anything for this one day. Nothing will be too much for me. I can even break the day down into each of its 24 hours if the struggle demands it. I can then focus on just one hour at a time. I can survive 60 minutes at a time without a cigarette. How freeing it is to realize I only have to quit smoking for today.

“I will do whatever I need to, to live without a cigarette today.”

For those who would like to quit without nicotine aids or even with the help of nicotine aids, I encourage the use of hypnotherapy. It has been proven to be the most effective method of helping to quit smoking. It will assist you to quit with visualization techniques, desensitization and positive reinforcement. Hypnosis also assists in significantly reducing withdrawal symptoms experienced by others who have quit.

For those of you who would like to quit I wish you the best of luck.

If you feel that hypnotherapy can help, contact me for an individual or group session.

A clinical hypnotherapist, handwriting analyst and certified  master hypnotist, Nicholas D.  Pollak may be contacted at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net